A legend of whimsical fashion and
portrait photography passed away late
last year, but not before leaving behind
a final book of his artistic and profound
virtuosity. Rodney Smith Photographs

includes 252 pages of the dream worldthe photographer cultivated and capturedon film over his 45-year career. The quirky, one-off narrativesof surreal and sometimes suspenseful beauty appear in bothcolor and black-and-white.

Known to be a perfectionist in every aspect (while neverknowing what frames he’d walk away with going into his shoots),Smith took complete control of this book’s production, workingvery closely with a team of creatives (including his wife, LeslieSmolan, who’s listed as the creative director). The carefullyselected photos are accompanied by thought pieces from Smith—personal, intimate, self-assessing and arrestingly honest words ofwisdom and Proustian-like memories. Bits of his personality arethreaded throughout, even in the thorough acknowledgementswhere he thought to thank his local post office in Palisades, NewYork and England. Smith wrote the foreword and afterword aswell, imparting a particularly stirring remark:“If this proves to be my final book—although I truly hope itdoes not—it will be my swan song of hope, expressing men asgentlemen and women as beautiful, delicate and empoweredin a way I love best. It is the way I wish the world to be, notmundane but extraordinary. It represents my belief that, justover that imaginary line, everything you see and feel in thisbook is possible.”